Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Welcome to the Watcher's Council, a blogging group consisting of some of the most incisive blogs in the 'sphere, and the longest running group of its kind in existence. Every week, the members nominate two posts each, one written by themselves and one written by someone from outside the group for consideration by the whole Council.Then we vote on the best two posts, with the results appearing on Friday morning.

Council News:

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Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Authority finally submitted their resolution to the UN Security Council last night and it came up for a vote today.

Before we look at how it turned out and why, let's examine what led up to this.

Mahmoud Abbas originally presented this December 17th as a unilateral attempt to get the UN behind defining 'Palestine' as the areas the PLO wants for a state...essentially the pre '67 boundaries, or as former Israeli diplomat Abba Eban aptly referred to them, the Auschwitz Lines. Of course, this violated both the Oslo Accords and the Road Map the PLO had signed, but then they never lived up to those agreements anyway.

Since the unity agreement with Hamas, Abbas has seen his credibility fade even farther than it already had. Hamas had shown no signs of giving up sovereignty in Gaza to Abbas and Fatah, and with Abbas now in year ten of what was originally supposed to be a four year term, Hamas was pressing him to put together elections. Abbas attempted to compete with Hamas for the support of the Palestinian 'street' by ramping up the Third Intifada with attacks against Israel's civilians and a speech in the UN accusing Israel of genocide, which hardened a lot of attitudes in Israel. But he was still in a position where he needed to appear to take the lead. So he went to the UN, ranting that if the UNSC failed to vote to pass his resolution, he would 'cut off all dealing with Israel (what 'dealings'?) and sue Israel via the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes.

The original draft called for a complete Israeli 'withdrawal' to the pre-'67 lines by 2017, Jerusalem as a 'shared capitol' whatever that means, and a 'just solution' for the refugees of 1948..the Arab ones, that is, not the Jews. The French had come up with an alternative draft, so the Jordanian ambassador and the PLO representatives got together with the French and came up with a second draft. As Abbas said, they took certain parts of it and "added Palestinian observations."

The French draft originally called for recognition of Israel as the Jewish State. Abbas and Saeb Erekat got that removed, and hardened the language considerably. Now, East Jerusalem was to be the capitol of Palestine exclusively, Arab refugees were to be allowed a Right of Return, and all of the Palestinian terrorists in Israel's jails were to be released. It also calls for Israeli occupation forces to be replaced by “a third-party presence.” Or in other words, a force to shield Fatah and Hamas terrorists from Israeli retaliation and give them a base where they can train, recruit and launch attacks from with impunity.

But wait, there's more. Check out this language:

Affirms the urgent need to attain, no later than 12 months after the adoption of this resolution, a just, lasting and comprehensive peaceful solution that brings an end to the Israeli occupation since 1967 and fulfills the vision of two independent, democratic and prosperous states, Israel and a sovereign, contiguous and viable State of Palestine living side by side in peace and security within mutually and internationally recognized borders.

Since the Arab-occupied parts of Judea, Samaria and Gaza have never been 'democratic' in
the way normal people conceive of the word,that simply means there would be at least one election if this were to go through..the one Hamas wins,just as they won the last one. Not only that,but note the use of the word 'contiguous.'

If 'Palestine' is contiguous, obviously Israel will not be. So along with swamping Israel with homicidal 'refugees' , releasing the current crop of experienced terrorists from Israel jails and forcing Israel back to indefensible borders, this resolution calls for a further split in Israeli territory between Gaza and the proposed Abbasistan in Judea and Samaria.

Even if the UNSC had voted for this travesty, Israel had already made it known they weren't going to abide by it.No sane country would.

What happened next is of interest.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry got involved at that point, asking Abbas not to present the current draft resolution to the UNSC. His reasons had nothing to do with it being unfair or in violation of two treaties the U.S. was a signatory to as well as the Palestinian Authority. What he asked Abbas to do was to wait until after the Israeli elections in March because putting this out now would strengthen the Israeli right.

But Abbas presented it anyway, via Jordan, the Arab representative on the UNSC.

What happened next was even more curious. Walk with me a moment and I'll explain.

The UN Security Council is composed of five permanent members and ten rotating ones. The five permanent members - America, Russia China, France and Britain- are a remnant of what the victors looked like after WWII and are the ones with a veto.The rest of the UN membership is divided into regional groups and the rotating members are chosen by a vote in their particular group. Israel, by the way, has never been a member of the Security Council and never will be because Israel is lumped in with the Arab nations, which is why a marginal country like Jordan is that group's representative rather than the most powerful and economically advanced country in that group.

The rotating members serve for two years, and the current members include Argentina, Australia, Chad, Chile, Jordan, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Nigeria, South Korea and Rwanda.

Argentina, Australia, Luxemburg, Korea and Rwanda have their terms ending in 2014, and they're going to be replaced in 2015 by Angola, Malaysia, New Zealand, Spain, and Venezuela. Or to put it another way, three pro-Israel members ( Australia, South Korea and Rwanda) are going to be replaced 5 countries that definitely aren't, including one Muslim nation that doesn't even recognize Israel's existence and another one (Spain) whose parliament has already voted to recognize 'Palestine.'While the draft resolution was presented yesterday, Abbas and Jordan had full control over when it was voted on. Common sense would indicate that they would wait until the new year for a vote, when they were almost certain to get the nine votes it would take to pass.Instead, the resolution was brought to the Council today by Jordanian Ambassador Dina Kawar for consideration today, with the present membership. Eight countries voted in favor of the motion - China, France, Russia, Argentina, Chad, Chile, Jordan, Luxembourg. Two countries voted against it, Australia and The United States. The other five, South Korea, Britain, Nigeria, Rwanda and Lithuania abstained.I want to point out something here. While this particular resolution would have been ignored by Israel even if it had passed, every country that voted for this voted in principal for the ethnic cleansing of 500,00 Jews, the barring of Jews permanently from their holiest religious sites, and for an Israel helpless against terrorist assaults.And they also voted to dignify with statehood an autocratic 'government' composed of vicious, and corrupt kleptocrats on the one hand and genocidal murderers on the other.

US State Department spokesman Jeff Rathke said that the resolution “sets arbitrary deadlines for reaching a peace agreement and for Israel's withdrawal from the West Bank, and those are more likely to curtail useful negotiations than to bring them to a successful conclusion.”

“Further, we think that the resolution fails to account for Israel's legitimate security needs, and the satisfaction of those needs, of course, integral to a sustainable settlement, ” he said.

So...what's going on here? There are two possibilities, and the game that's actually being played here will be revealed by what 'Palestine' does next.

You'll remember that in his earlier remarks, Secretary Kerry didn't tell Abbas that the U.S. didn't support the resolution per se. He asked Abbas to wait until after the Israeli elections. The Obama Administration, like the Clinton Administration before them wants Netanyahu out and a Left wing government headed by Labor's easily manipulated Yitzhak Herzog and the ever flexible Tzipi Livni in.

The U.S. also didn't want to have to use its veto and risk upsetting Arab allies now involved in a coalition against IS. So tonight's exercise could very easily have been kabuki theater in which everyone got what they wanted - Abbas gained some street cred for going to the UN, The U.S. didn't need to use its veto, and Britain got out of having to vote against the resolution, which would have inflamed the large part of its population that loathes Israel. Since Australia, Rwanda and South Korea would have voted no anyway if it came down to it, all they needed was one more abstention. Netanyahu did part of the work by convincing his friend, the pro-Israel Jonathan Goodluck to have Nigeria abstain.

If the Arabs whom call themselves Palestinians avoid going back to the UNSC after this, concentrate on the ICC and other channels and reintroduce this after March, when the Obama Administration will know whether its efforts to oust Netanyahu succeeded, we'll know what happened today backstage, especially if the U.S. abstains or votes yes after Israel's elections for substantially the same resolution.

This, by the way, is the scenario I lean towards.

The other possibility is that the Palestinians simply miscalculated. The resolution only failed to pass by one vote,and it would have almost certainly passed had the vote been scheduled in 2015, barring a U.S. veto. I personally doubt the second scenario since the Palestinians could simply have waited and been ensured of it passing.

If Abbas submits this again shortly after the new UNSC members take their seats, then we'll know that this was indeed a simple miscalculation and that today's events are going to be repeated, but probably with a different outcome - unless the U.S. vetoes it. W'll see if they do.

Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Congressman Michael Grimm (R-NY), the lone GOP representative in the New York City area (Staten Island) has announced that he will resign effective Jan. 5, two weeks after he pleaded guilty to felony tax evasion.

What Grimm actually did was to under-report his employees’ wages while he was owner of the Manhattan restaurant Healthalicious.

Grimm's decision was apparently made after a conversation with Speaker John Boehner.

I think this was a huge mistake on Grimm's part.Instead of caving, he should have looked Boehner in the eye and told him, 'I'll resign right after Charlie Rangel does.'

Why should he disenfranchise his constituents or be held to a higher standard than Charlie Rangel?

Tax evasion is a crime, no doubt. But if you compare what Michael Grimm did to what Charlie Rangel got away with, Rep. Grimm would have been far better off not pleading guilty and taking his chances with the House.

If nothing else, that would have pointed out, yet again, that Democrats, particularly black Democrats are held to far different standards than Republicans by their peers and especially by the media.

It's time again for the Watcher's Council's 'Weasel Of The Week' nominations, where we pick our choices to compete for Award the famed Golden Weasel to a public figure who particularly deserves to be slimed and mocked for his or her dastardly deeds during the week. Every Tuesday morning, tune in for the Weasel of the Week nominations

On Oct. 13, he was photographed walking arm-in-arm with author and activist Cornel West toward the St. Louis University campus where protesters staged a sit-in.

The Razor :My weasel of the week is the Airline Industry. Since they were bailed out after the 9-11 attacks the industry as a whole has shown its gratitude. As the New Yorker notes in Why Airlines Want to Make You Suffer, “The necessity of degrading basic service provides a partial explanation for the fact that, in the past decade, the major airlines have done what they can to make flying basic economy, particularly on longer flights, an intolerable experience.” As someone who has watched the airfares to Europe over the past year, the price of gasoline has fallen by almost 40% while tickets haven’t budged. Just something to remember the next time the industry goes cap-in-hand to Congress seeking more taxpayer cash.

President of the 57 U.S. States and Fluent Austrian Speaker Barack Hussein Obama!!

The Obama administration hopes to transfer dozens of
detainees from Guantanamo Bay in the next six months as part of a
stepped-up effort to reduce the population there, according to a
U.S. official.

As many as five detainees are expected to be moved from the
detention facility in the next few days, with several more transfers
anticipated in early 2015, the official said on condition of anonymity.

The news comes less than a week after the United States announced it
had repatriated four detainees from Guantanamo to Afghanistan leaving 132 detainees at the U.S. naval base in southeastern Cuba.

This is one instance where Obama is transparent. His motives on Cuba had
a great deal to do with eliminating Gitmo. Open the gates and free the
poor, misunderstood Jihadists. His betrayal of all those who have lost
loved ones on 9/11 and in various other terrorist attacks is
breathtaking. Anything to support Islam and screw the infidel. Obama is
one weasel who stays true to his Muslim roots.

Wal-Mart. Yes, Wal-Mart!

Nice Deb : It is with deep sadness that I must nominate my beloved Walmart for continuing to fund racial agitator and shake-down artist Al Sharpton whose extreme, race-baiting rhetoric has long contributed to racial hatred and violence for close to 30 years.

The National Legal and Policy Center wrote a letter to Walmart on 12/22 asking them to no longer contribute to Sharpton and his organization, the National Action Network (NAN). As of yet there has been no response from Walmart, which is decidedly craven and dare I say, weaselly of them.

The Right Planet : In typical Pavlovian fashion, the Huffington Post pins the blame for the execution-style murders of two NYPD officers, PO Rafael Ramos and PO Wenjen Liu, on ... wait for it ... the NRA! After listening to countless liberal commentators urge people to not blame an entire group, i.e. protesters, on the actions of one deranged individual, Ismaayl Brinsley, in the senseless murder of two NYPD police officers, I predicted it wouldn't take long before the left blamed the NRA. Well, the HuffPo didn't let me down ... once again proving that you just can't fix stupid.

Two 'Palestinian' Terrorist Cowards TBA

JoshuaPundit : My Weasel Nomination is a little out of the norm since the nominees names haven't been released yet,although they soon will be. It goes out to two inhabitants of Samarian village of Azun, near Nablus, a city in the Arab-occupied Area A part of Judea and Samaria.

These brave Arab warriors targeted 11-year-old Ayala Shapira when she was riding in her car with her father and firebombed them. Her father, Avner was lightly injured but Ayala was the main target. She received third degree burns over most of her body and almost died. She's still in critical condition, and if she lives she will have to have her entire face reconstructed.

The Shin Bet found the perpetrators and they readily confessed, admitting they had received the firebombs from a third party, walked along a road leading from Ma’aleh Shomron to Matan where the Shapiras live and waited by the side of the road for a good target with Israeli plates to pass by. Neither reportedly expressed any remorse for what they had done, which is fairly typical.

Weasel is something of a misnomer here, as it insults weasels. These creatures are something far worse. They are Amalek personified.

Well, there it is! Are these worthy weasels or what? Check back Thursday to see which Weasel walks off with the statuette of shame!

Make sure to tune in every Monday for the Watcher’s Forum.

And remember, every Wednesday, the Council has its weekly contest with the members nominating two posts each, one written by themselves and one written by someone from outside the group for consideration by the whole Council. The votes are cast by the Council, and the results are posted on Friday morning.It’s a weekly magazine of some of the best stuff written in the blogosphere, and you won’t want to miss it...or any of the other fantabulous Watcher's Council content.

And don’t forget to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter..’cause we’re cool like that, y'know?

Monday, December 29, 2014

Every week on Monday morning , the Council and our invited guests weigh in at the Watcher's Forum, short takes on a major issue of the day, the culture, or daily living. This week's question: What Are Your Predictions For 2015?

1. Gitmo will be emptied and closed.
2. The Republicans will facilitate and fund the full implementation of
Amnesty.
3. The Republicans will facilitate and fund the full implementation of
Obamacare.
4. The Republicans will support and assist Obama with the Trans-Pacific
Partnership.
5. Riots and violence will increase across the US and you will see a
nationalization by Obama of our police forces.
6. Net Neutrality and censorship will be implemented on the Internet.
7. There will be a stock market correction or crash.
8. Inflation will begin to spiral out of control.
9. The dollar will be replaced as the international monetary standard.
10. Christians and Jews will see increased persecution worldwide.
11. Russia will bring more satellite countries into the fold and will
encroach on Europe.
12. ISIS will march on and spread the caliphate further.
13. China will expand their military.
14. Venezuela will finish going bankrupt.
15. Russia, China and Iran will gain a much bigger toe hold in South
America.
16. There will be a rapid rise in the illegal alien influx, cartel
violence and border skirmishes.
17. There will be a major terrorist attack in the US.
18. IRS abuses will get even worse in the coming year.
19. Taxation will increase on many fronts.
20. Employment will continue to diminish for Americans and all economic
indicators will be further manipulated by the government and become
utter fabrications of reality. It will be one aspect of a massive
propaganda blitz by the US government to keep Americans docile.

My last prediction is that I will not be invited to any cocktail parties
as I can clear a room in 10 seconds flat. ; )

The Right Planet:I'm not really one to make predictions, since I always seem to be wrong. But, I'll take a stab at it ...

The national debt will continue to skyrocket (as always) and nothing will be done about it.

Obama will continue his racial agitation, despite the fact he's the first "black" president in U.S. history who promised a "post-racial" America.

The radical left will continue to search for the next Michael Brown in order to in order to whip even more racial animus.

Obama will continue to dismantle the military.

The GOP establishment will do nothing to stop Obamacare, despite campaign promises to the contrary

Another massive new wave of illegal immigrants.

The GOP establishment will continue to push presidential candidates like Jeb Bush and Mitt Romney, despite the base's lack of enthusiasm for these establishment types.

The left will push for Marxist radicals like Elizabeth Warren as their next presidential candidate in 2016.

Despite the fact the GOP won a major victory in the 2014 midterms, they'll still act like they lost.

Obama will unleash the most radical agenda ever seen in the history of the United States, because he feels he's got nothing to lose.

Sorry, I think it's going to be a sh*tty year for the USA. And I think it's only going to get worse.

Laura Rambeau Lee at Right Reason: 2015 is shaping up to be a defining year for America. Lame duck President Obama will continue to push through executive orders, further undermining the balance of power and the rule of law. Even with Republican majorities in the House and Senate I don’t see them effectively challenging him. One or two will speak out, but will be vilified as radical right extremists by the left and also by the establishment GOP.

I am afraid the events at the end of 2014, with thousands of people protesting against the police in Ferguson, MO and New York, are a precursor of things to come in 2015. The left will continue its agenda of dividing our country by race, religion, class, and cries for social justice.

As we head into the 2016 election season, younger voters will become involved in the political races based on social issues, such as same sex marriage and the legalization of marijuana and align themselves with Democrat candidates or Libertarians. Conservative Republicans will need to find a strong voice who will speak out for fiscal restraint, smaller government, and traditional values, or we can expect to see Jeb Bush being propped up as the frontrunner.

As the world continues to become more dangerous we will be drawing down our military and will be unable and unwilling to get involved.

While we have seen a little improvement in the job market and the economy, as new regulations roll out expect small businesses to take a bigger hit and many will close their doors for good. The cost of doing business in this country has become punitive for the average small business owner.

I hope I am wrong, and the Republican led Congress will work towards gutting Obamacare, cutting punitive regulations from the EPA and CFPB to name a couple, and not approving any funding for Obama’s illegal amnesty action, but I just don’t see it happening.

JoshuaPundit : Hmmm...OK, domestic politics. I'm not prepared to predict how the new congress will behave, but I will say that if it simply becomes business as usual, you will see a major revolt by the Republican Party base to the extent where we may end up with a third party that ultimately replaces it.That's almost certain if the GOP leadership tries to foist someone like Jeb Bush on the party as a presidential nominee.I actually expect the new congress to attack some areas, like EPA regulations that restrict coal. And don't be surprised if you see increased opposition to the president's amnesty bill, especially when it comes to attacking its funding. It was the one area Boehner left open, not because he wanted to but because he had to give the conservatives in congress something in order to get votes to pass cromnibus in the House.

Don't be surprised if the Supremes gut ObamaCare. What will happen after that is anyone's guess, since the health insurance industry has been monkeyed with almost beyond repair and will take some time to come back.

I also predict that we will see increased tension between the president and the new congress, especially when it comes to his appointments, investigation of the various scandals surrounding the White House, his amnesty and the funding of certain presidential executive orders.

I think the GOP nomination will boil down to a choice between Rand Paul, Mike Huckabee, and Jeb Bush. I don't think Dr. Carson will run in 2016, nor will Ted Cruz as much as I 'd like to see him do so, but I'm happy to be wrong on that one. Either one may end up as VP candidates.

I see the chances of Hillary Clinton running as no more than 50-50, because of her health, her unpopularity withthe party's far Left progressives and because of continued revelations on how horribly she ran the State Department, including the Benghazi fiasco. Elizabeth Warren is a more likely choice, I think.

Other domestic predictions; I regret to say that I think we're headed for a major terrorism attack, along with a huge scandal concerning our domestic intel setup. I see it as being an attack that the media will attempt to paint as being carried out by a so-called 'lone wolf', but will in reality be one aided and abetted by our overseas enemies, just like 9/11 was. I hope I'm wrong on that one.

The economy will continue about how it's been, but probably with slightly higher interest rates come midyear. The economy is a colossal con, with real unemployment and real CPI inflation far higher and our growth and GDP far lower than we're being told, but so far we remain the best game in town in terms of relatively safe foreign investment. The reckoning will come in very gradual stages after Obama is safely out of office.

Baseball will have a resurgence next year. This year was about getting rid of the stench of the steroids scandal.

Foreign Affairs; We will continue to flail around in Iraq, with this president gradually increasing troops on the ground. His real object is to have Iran doing more of the fighting against Islamic State, with the result, of course, that Iran will control Iraq as part of the nuclear armed Shi'ite bloc they wish to create. 2015 will also likely be the year that Iran explodes a successful nuclear weapon unless Israel stops them. Obama will not.

Syria may well see a cease fire and an arrangement between Assad and IS to share the country, midwifed by Putin. The way things are now, neither side can win but both sides need time to consolidate their gains and lick their wounds.

Israel will continue its move to the right politically, with Naftali Bennett continuing to rise in popularity. Israel will continue to expand its increasingly closer ties with India, China and East Asia. The EU will continue to become more hostile to Israel, perhaps even to the point of sanctions by countries like Ireland, the UK (at least in the short run) Spain, Portugal, Scandinavia, Belgium, the Netherlands and France.Other countries like Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, Italy, the Balkan states and other eastern European countries will simply ignore any sanctions.

While the Obama Administration will likely veto the current UNSC resolution to unilaterally force a Palestinian state by the Palestinian Authority, the Obama regime will almost certainly abstain and allow another one to pass if it's put before the UNSC after the Israeli elections in March. The Obama team is attempting to interfere in the Israeli elections to get the Left wing Labor Party elected and they will want to see if they can mange it before taking the political flak of allowing a UN diktat to pass..which would be opposed vociferously by congress.

Of course once that happens the relationship between America and Israel is going to change quite a bit,which was what this president has wanted all along. Since getting Labor/Hatnua elected with enough seats to form a governing coalition is highly unlikely, I think that scenario is what we're ultimately looking at. Expect continued terrorist attacks on Israel in this current Third Intifada, which will be followed by a major crackdown boo-hooed by all the usual suspects.

Russia will likely attempt to assert its authority over one or more of the Baltic States...not by invasion, but by simple intimidation ala' Finland. I'd say Estonia is the most likely target.

Japan and Australia will rearm and increase their defense spending.They will also increase their security cooperation, which will likely include Vietnam and the Philippines. Germany will do the same; expect an enlargement of the Bundeswehr and security coordination with its neighbors like Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary.

Expect UKip to do exceptionally well in the British Elections, And while French elections aren't until 2017 unless the socialists and the extremely unpopular Hollande is forced out, expect Marine Le Pen's right leaning Front National (FN) to continue to gain massive ground.

Rhymes With Right : Well, my friends, after having had a mixed year making projections for 2014, I'm once again at it. I'll once again stare into that foggy crystal ball and catch a glimpse into the future -- undoubtedly with mixed results. Each of my four categories will have a prediction that I feel is almost certain to come true, one I feel is somewhat more iffy but still probable, and one that is a long-shot and will in twelve months be seen either as prophetic genius or utter folly.

World Affairs

Safe Prediction -- Benjamin Netanyahu will remain Prime Minister of Israel following a challenge by a more secular and more leftist coalition. The reason for his success -- which will not be expected only weeks prior to new elections -- will be a renewed campaign of terrorist attacks on civilians in the wake of UN recognition of a "State of Palestine".

Not-So-Safe Prediction -- Continued North Korean anger over The Interview will lead to more attacks on the American entertainment industry. The target? Online streaming services renting/selling The Interview and Team America: World Police.

Long-Shot Prediction -- King Abdullah of Jordan is overthrown in an Islamist coup.

National Affairs

Safe Prediction -- Barack Obama will continue to govern using the same playbook as the late Hugo Chavez, issuing executive decrees and usurping Congress' lawmaking role despite the restrictions on executive power contained in the Constitution.

Not-So-Safe Prediction -- There will be an unexpected resignation from the Supreme Court at the end of the 2014-2015 term. This will set the stage for a major confirmation fight and, after the rejection of Obama's nominee, an effort by the President to make a recess appointment to the High Court.

Long-Shot Prediction -- A bipartisan immigration reform bill will be passed by both houses of Congress and be signed by the president. It will have broad support among the American people, but will be rejected by both the progressive wing of the Democrat Party and conservative wing of the Republican Party in Congress.

Texas Affairs

Safe Prediction -- Despite strong opposition by the grassroots, Joe Straus is again selected as Speaker of the House in the Texas Legislature. When the filing date for the 2016 primary passes in December, a record number of well-funded conservative challengers will have filed to run against incumbent legislators in the Republican primary.

Not-So-Safe Predictions -- The resignation of Steve Munisteri as Chairman of the Republican Party of Texas will result in the election of Tom Mechler by the State Republican Executive Committee. The selection of the current RPT treasurer will be more about interim stability than the long-term direction of the state party, with everyone looking toward a major floor fight at the 2016 convention between former Harris County GOP chairman Jared Woodfill and Dallas County chairman Wade Emmert in which the grassroots will make their voices heard.

Long-Shot Prediction -- Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick surprises political observers by being an even-handed consensus builder as the presiding officer over the Texas Senate.

2016 Presidential Politics

Safe Prediction -- As 2015 ends, the GOP will have a spirited race for the presidential nomination underway, with the leading contenders being Jeb Bush, Scott Walker, and Rand Paul, followed by Ted Cruz, Bobby Jindal, and Paul Ryan.

Long-Shot Prediction -- As 2015 ends, the Hillary Clinton juggernaut faces unexpected difficulties in the race for the Democrat presidential nomination. These will come in the form of leaked documents from Hillary's time as Secretary of State, a new Bill Clinton sex scandal that raises questions about Hillary's sensitivity to women alleging sexual abuse/assault, and an unexpectedly strong challenger from the Left.

The Glittering Eye :For many years at The Glittering Eye I would do an annual predictions post. Last year I gave up the practice. It wasn't because my track record wasn't pretty good — it was around 85% right — but because like everybody else I never managed to predict the really big stories of the year.

However, I'll get into the spirit of things and give you one prediction. The Supreme Court will decide in favor of the plaintiffs in King v. Burwell with a vote of 5-4, Justice Kennedy concurring with the majority. That's the case challenging the paying of federal subsidies to individuals who live in states that did not set up their own healthcare insurance exchanges.

Well, there you have it! Make sure to tune in every Monday for the Watcher’s Forum. and every Tuesday morning, when we reveal the weeks' nominees for Weasel of the Week!And remember, every Wednesday, the Council has its weekly contest with the members nominating two posts each, one written by themselves and one written by someone from outside the group for consideration by the whole Council. The votes are cast by the Council, and the results are posted on Friday morning.It’s a weekly magazine of some of the best stuff written in the blogosphere, and you won’t want to miss it...or any of the other fantabulous Watcher's Council content.And don’t forget to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter..’cause we’re cool like that, y'know?

Friday, December 26, 2014

The Council has spoken, the votes have been cast, and the results are in for this week's Watcher's Council match up.

But first, we have some important business to take care of. We have an important Occasion to celebrate, the birthday of our own Dave Schuler, The Glittering Eye.

It actually works out in a way that this week's Council Results coincide with Boxing Day rather than Dave's actual birthday, which falls on Christmas Day. This way, he doesn't have to share his birthday party with any other holiday, and it gives us an extra day for celebration.

First, a suitable cake. On a previous occasion, we really enjoyed a double Dutch chocolate number with chocolate ganache icing and just a lil' bit of rum for flavor, and it went over so well I decided to get two for this occasion...one with rum, one without.

I also picked out some chilled Veuve Cliquot to drink...brut, of course.

And we'll also have a nice assortment of fruit juices and mineral water.

For those of you whom want something a little stronger, one of my faves..Talisker's 18-year old Single Malt,a real charmer.

Dave and I go back, what..is it really ten years? He predates me on the Council, and I've never forgotten his first reaction when I came aboard. In those days, we didn't vote on new members, the Watcher simply decided on his own, and Dave used to write little blerbs giving his own reaction to each Council member's entry, something I wish he still did. At my debut, he wrote on his site to the effect that he had enjoyed New Sisyphus (the member I replaced) but was going to wait and see about this Joshuapundit guy. I hope he's made up his mind about me!

Dave Schuler runs one of the best one man blogs out there. He remains very much the Council's renaissance man, whose varied interests run the gamut from politics and world affairs, to opera, wine, economics, cooking, dogs, martial arts and a thousand other subjects. And he has a lot to say about all of them! Even more to his credit, he specializes in common sense, a quality today that's not at all common nowadays.

In all the time I've known him, not only has he cheerfully put up with all my nonsense but he's always been there whenever I've needed help and good advice. And I've never ceased to appreciate his clarity of thought, his ability to get to the heart of the matter, or our friendship.

And that's the thing, really. You meet the most wonderful people blogging.

Happy Birthday, Dave, and many many more. And no worries..we've already alerted the Fire Department about all those candles.

Another brief note before we get down to business. Our dear friend and Council member Marion Algier of Ask Marion has been fighting a tough battle against cancer. She's a real scrapper though, and I'm proud to say that based on a recent medical report she appears to be getting the upper hand, G-d willing!

Such fights are fairly expensive, however.

If any of you feel able to visit her site and drop some shekels in her PayPal tip jar, please do so. It would be a wonderful thing to do, especially at this time of year.And send her your prayers.

"Christmas can be celebrated in the school room with pine trees, tinsel and reindeers, but there must be no mention of the man whose birthday is being celebrated. One wonders how a teacher would answer if a student asked why it was called Christmas." - President Ronald Reagan

“I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!”

"And in despair I bowed my head;
There is no peace on earth," I said;
For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"

"Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth he sleep!
The Wrong shall fail,
the Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men!” - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

"Christmas isn't a season, it's a feeling -Edna Ferber

Christmas is a season not only of rejoicing but of reflection.- Sir Winston Churchill

In two days, Christians around the world will celebrate Christmas, the birthday of Jesus of Nazareth, called the Christ..or as I, a non-Christian sometimes respectfully refer to him, Rav Yussel ben-Yosef. For among other attributes, Jesus was also a learned rabbi.

While historical evidence points towards the actual birthday of Jesus being in the spring, the December 25th date - January 6th for Orthodox Christians - are the traditional days Christians celebrate.

It is a time of year when people in predominantly Christian countries are more expansive, more gentle and more at peace with each other. They smile more, and they let the little things go because it's Christmas, a time of cheer and good will, a time for friends and family.

It is also a time when the secular Left unleashes savage attacks on the very nature of Christ and the holiday itself. Satanists demand the right to set up displays next to manger scenes, smarmy writers mock the traditions of Christmas and Christianity and atheists and Leftists go on the warpath with lawsuits designed to try and stop public religious displays of faith, especially Christian ones.

One writer whom I won't link to even made the point in a very well-known far Left outlet that religion in general is 'rapey' (her word) and Christianity in particular because - wait for it- it teaches that G-d raped the Virgin Mary without her consent, since consent isn't explicitly mentioned in Scripture. So of course, this is just another instance of the 'Patriarchy' in action.

Before I go on, let me point out that all of these attacks are permissible free speech, although there's no doubt in my mind that if we were talking about Islam, they'd be a lot more circumspect.Or perhaps outright cowardly and hypocritical is a more accurate way to put it.

But if we get beyond the secular trapping and look at the real meaning of Christmas, it becomes obvious that all these attacks on Christianity have a distinct motivation.It becomes glaringly apparent why the Left does what it does.

Christmas is above all a time for Christians to celebrate a miracle of their faith, the birth of their Messiah,born in the humblest of surroundings but recognized by the Magi and generations of future Christians as Lord and Savior. To Christians, Jesus is whom they owe ultimate allegiance to, not to government or to secular power, but to heavenly power. If Jesus is their Lord, than no secular lord can be, and if Jesus is the way, the truth and the light, salvation comes from the Lord, not from Moscow, or Peking, or Washington DC, or any other seat of government.

The Founders themselves understood this quite well, that the unalienable rights they sought came from their Creator, not government, or an earthly king.

To the Left, this belief goes against everything they stand for. That's why the Left needs so badly to to mock, attack and destroy it. And why all of us, even those of us whom are not Christians need to defend it.

In our non-Council category, the winner was Heather MacDonald's fine piece at the City Journal – The Big Lie of the Anti-Cop Left Turns Lethal submitted by The Watcher. It is simply one of the better things written so far about the current war by the Left against the police.

Make sure to tune in every Monday for the Watcher’s Forum. and every Tuesday morning, when we reveal the weeks' nominees for Weasel of the Week!

And remember, every Wednesday, the Council has its weekly contest with the members nominating two posts each, one written by themselves and one written by someone from outside the group for consideration by the whole Council. The votes are cast by the Council, and the results are posted on Friday morning.It’s a weekly magazine of some of the best stuff written in the blogosphere, and you won’t want to miss it...or any of the other fantabulous Watcher's Council content.

And don’t forget to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter..’cause we’re cool like that, y'know?

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Once again, It's time to present this week's statuette of shame, The Golden Weasel!!

Every Tuesday, the Council nominates some of the slimiest, most despicable characters in public life for some deed of evil, cowardice or corruption they’ve performed. Then we vote to single out one particular Weasel for special mention, to whom we award the statuette of shame, our special, 100% plastic Golden Weasel. This week's nominees were all despicable, but the votes are in and we have our winner...the envelope please...

After throwing the NYPD under the bus over Garner and dissing the attack on cops a week ago by seven protesters, he comes out and dares to show his face at the press conference for the execution style murders of two officers in New York yesterday. At the end of which, he broke into crappy Spanish. The police union has called for him to be barred from all police funerals for turning his back on the NYPD.

Turn about is fair play... the officers turned their backs on de Blasio at his press conference. When he showed up at the hospital where the two deceased cops were, with family, friends and comrades grieving, he tried to say he was one of them and was told by at least one officer he was not welcome or one of them and was told to leave. With all that blue blood on his hands, de Blasio should just resign and slink away. He's a cowardly weasel that has brought Marxism, violence and murder to New York.

Ah yes, Mayor Bill De Blasio, an excellent example of what it looks like when the inmates take over the asylum. Even the stupidest, meanest banana republic dictator usually knows enough to remember to keep on the good side of the people keeping civil order, protecting him and his family and keeping the regime in power. Even the mayor's old commie buddies the Sandinistas understood that much ...but not Mayor de Blasio!

It takes real talent to be that stupid. I mean, the local stores complain about some ne'er do well with a huge rap sheet peddling illegal smokes and taking away their business, the cops some and tell him to leave, he refuses, he resists arrest and dies from a heart attack. A grand jury looks at the evidence, finds that the police did nothing wrong. And not only does the mayor side with the rioters against his own police force, he throws gasoline on the fire,perhaps even to the point of getting a couple of them killed. He even smirks in public about having what he and other racialists and cop-haters have called 'the conversation' about the dangers of 'racist police' with his own bi-racial son...the same kid who goes nowhere without an NYPD security blanket composed of police prepared to risk their lives to save his child!

There's stupid, and then there's pathetic. So Mayor de Blasio richly deserves his Golden Weasel.

Let's have a nice hand for a couple of members of the NYPD's union, The Patrolman's Benevolent Association, who were nice enough to come down to pick up the mayor's award for him, and not only that, they plan to customize it with some decorations, tributes and engraving of their own before they deliver it to his office!

Is that nice or what?

Well, there it is.

Check back next Tuesday to see who next week's nominees for Weasel of the Week are!

Make sure to tune in every Monday for the Watcher’s Forum, and remember, every Wednesday, the Council has its weekly contest with the members nominating two posts each, one written by themselves and one written by someone from outside the group for consideration by the whole Council. The votes are cast by the Council, and the results are posted on Friday morning.

It’s a weekly magazine of some of the best stuff written in the blogosphere, and you won’t want to miss it...or any of the other fantabulous Watcher's Council content.

And don’t forget to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter..’cause we’re cool like that, y'know?

In his column today, anti-Israel columnist Roger Cohen of The New York Times talked to Tzipi Livni, candidate for prime minister and Israel's peace negotiator, about why the John Kerry-sponsored peace talks failed earlier this year. Livni tells of the three ways the Palestinians destroyed the peace talks.

The administration in March had presented a framework for both sides.

Livni considered it a fair framework, and Netanyahu had indicated willingness to proceed on the basis of it while saying he had reservations. But Abbas declined to give an answer in what his senior negotiator, Saeb Erekat, later described as a “difficult” meeting with Obama. Abbas remained evasive on the framework, which was never made public.

One part of the framework was to accept the 1967 lines (really the 1948 armistice lines) as the basis of negotiations. In other words, Netanyahu made a major concession here and Abbas still refused to play ball. Still at the behest of the administration talks continued and a few weeks later, the Palestinians were at it again.

Then, Livni said, she looked up at a television as she awaited a cabinet meeting and saw Abbas signing letters as part of a process to join 15 international agencies — something he had said he would not do before the deadline.

Abbas offered the excuse that Israel was stalling. Still, this was a unilateral action outside the framework of negotiations and a broken promise.

Finally, there was this:

Talks limped on around the idea of a settlement freeze and other confidence ­building measures. Then, on April 23, a reconciliation was announced between Hamas and Abbas’s Fatah — something since proved empty. That, for Netanyahu and Livni, was the end: They were not prepared to engage, even indirectly, with Hamas.

This is important. Livni is trying to establish herself with a sympathetic columnist, and yet Abbas' stunts were too much even for her. In other words, even if she had been prime minister, there would have been no deal. It really doesn't matter if the Fatah-Hamas unity government "proved empty," Fatah had made a deal with an unrepentant terrorist organization. Fatah violated its commitment to renounce terror.

Cohen, unfortunately, spins this final blow to the peace process this way:

A long season of negotiation gave way to recrimination and, soon enough, the Gaza war, with nearly 2,200 Palestinians dead and about 70 Israelis.

Hold on. The way to cap off what Livni said is to acknowledge that three times the Palestinians destroyed the negotiating process. They refused to accept a framework that Israel had done, they went ahead with unilateral actions and finally made a deal with terrorists.

Cohen is unable to acknowledge this. For him it's simply a matter of recriminations, that both sides contribute to equally.

Livni concludes, “For me, any day that goes by without a solution is another lost day. For those believing in the idea of Greater Israel another day that passes without an agreement is another day of victory and taking more land.” This would be more convincing if she showed that somehow Netanyahu was responsible for the talks' failure. But she didn't. She showed that even she, the self-proclaimed moderate, couldn't make a deal with Abbas.

A federal judge has thrown out a lawsuit filed against President Barack Hussein Obama's amnesty order on the grounds it was unconstitutional and bypassed congress:

Judge Beryl Howell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia denied the demand by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio for a preliminary injunction to halt the policies. {...}

Arpaio's lawsuit said the reforms, which eased the threat of deportation for about 4.7 million undocumented immigrants, amounted to an amnesty and would encourage more people to cross the border illegally.

Beryl's 33-page decision said Arpaio did not meet the legal requirements to qualify as a person of standing in bringing the case on constitutional grounds

Oh, and Judge Howell? She's a loyal apparatchnik, was one of the radical judges shoved through by President Obama to the DC Circuit Court using Majority Leader Harry Reid's nuclear option. A look at her background shows all the signs of a radical 'progressive,' which of course is why she was appointed in the first place.

I'm certain Judge Howell was totally unbiased and based her ruling strictly on the legal facts of the case and not her personal politics, aren't you?

Actually, she didn't rule on the legal facts of the case. She denied the injunction on the grounds that the top law enforcement official in an Arizona border county heavily affected by illegal migration 'had no standing.'

No, according to this judge in spite of his sworn duty to uphold the law and protect the citizens of Maricopa County, Sheriff Arpaio had no right to go to the courts and seek an injunction to stop policies that are directly impacting his ability to do so.

That's pretty much what we've come to.Justice is just whatever the Left says it is..and subject to change whenever it suits their agenda.

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Welcome to the Watcher's Council, a blogging group consisting of some of the most incisive blogs in the 'sphere, and the longest running group of its kind in existence. Every week, the members nominate two posts each, one written by themselves and one written by someone from outside the group for consideration by the whole Council.Then we vote on the best two posts, with the results appearing on Friday morning.

Council News:

Merry Christmas to all our readers and fans from The Watcher's Council!

You can, too! Want to see your work appear on the Watcher’s Council homepage in our weekly contest listing? Didn’t get nominated by a Council member? No worries.

To bring something to my attention, simply head over to Joshuapundit and post the title and a link to the piece you want considered along with an e-mail address (mandatory, but of course it won't be published) in the comments section no later than Monday 6PM PST in order to be considered for our honorable mention category. Then return the favor by creating a post on your site linking to the Watcher’s Council contest for the week when it comes out on Wednesday morning

Simple, no?

It's a great way of exposing your best work to Watcher’s Council readers and Council members while grabbing the increased traffic and notoriety. And how good is that, eh?

In two days, Christians around the world will celebrate Christmas, the birthday of Jesus of Nazareth, called the Christ..or as I, a non-Christian sometimes respectfully refer to him, Rav Yussel ben-Yosef. For among other attributes, Jesus was also a learned rabbi.

While historical evidence points towards the actual birthday of Jesus being in the spring, the December 25th date - January 6th for Orthodox Christians - are the traditional days Christians celebrate.

It is a time of year when people in predominantly Christian countries are more expansive, more gentle and more at peace with each other. They smile more, and they let the little things go because it's Christmas, a time of cheer and good will, a time for friends and family.

It is also a time when the secular Left unleashes savage attacks on the very nature of Christ and the holiday itself. Satanists demand the right to set up displays next to manger scenes, smarmy writers mock the traditions of Christmas and Christianity and atheists and Leftists go on the warpath with lawsuits designed to try and stop public religious displays of faith, especially Christian ones.

One writer whom I won't link to even made the point in a very well-known far Left outlet that religion in general is 'rapey' (her word) and Christianity in particular because - wait for it- it teaches that G-d raped the Virgin Mary without her consent, since consent isn't explicitly mentioned in Scripture. So of course, this is just another instance of the 'Patriarchy' in action.

Before I go on, let me point out that all of these attacks are permissible free speech, although there's no doubt in my mind that if we were talking about Islam, they'd be a lot more circumspect.Or perhaps outright cowardly and hypocritical is a more accurate way to put it.

But if we get beyond the secular trapping and look at the real meaning of Christmas, it becomes obvious that all these attacks on Christianity have a distinct motivation.It becomes glaringly apparent why the Left does what it does.

Christmas is above all a time for Christians to celebrate a miracle of their faith, the birth of their Messiah,born in the humblest of surroundings but recognized by the Magi and generations of future Christians as Lord and Savior. To Christians, Jesus is whom they owe ultimate allegiance to, not to government or to secular power, but to heavenly power. If Jesus is their Lord, than no secular lord can be, and if Jesus is the way, the truth and the light, salvation comes from the Lord, not from Moscow, or Peking, or Washington DC, or any other seat of government.

The Founders themselves understood this quite well, that the unalienable rights they sought came from their Creator, not government, or an earthly king.

To the Left, this belief goes against everything they stand for. That's why the Left needs so badly to mock, attack and destroy it. And why all of us, even those of us whom are not Christians need to defend it.

Christmas, like our Constitution is a way of reminding us that government has limits to its power. Hanukkah sends the same message, with its recounting of the Jewish victory of faith and arms over the pagan, Hellenizing Greeks. Is it any wonder that President Barack Obama, in each of his Hanukkah messages has consistently failed to mention that detail?

Just as the Seleucid Empire tried with all its might to destroy Jews and Judaism, the Roman Empire tried to destroy Christianity, and for the same reason...to destroy those inalienable rights our Founders spoke of, and to bring all of their population under government's yoke. Both failed.

And that is a lesson for our times.The light will eventually defeat the darkness, and that is the essence of what we need to believe in, to protect and defend, no matter how dark things may seem.

With that in mind, I wish all of you a Merry and Blessed Christmas. Celebrate it with peace and joy, faith and family, prayer and reverence...because among other things, it is a celebration not only of our freedom, but an acknowledgement of where it derives from.

Monday, December 22, 2014

It's time again for the Watcher's Council's 'Weasel Of The Week' nominations, where we pick our choices to compete for Award the famed Golden Weasel to a public figure who particularly deserves to be slimed and mocked for his or her dastardly deeds during the week. Every Tuesday morning, tune in for the Weasel of the Week nominations

After throwing the NYPD under the bus over Garner and dissing the attack on cops a week ago by seven protesters, he comes out and dares to show his face at the press conference for the execution style murders of two officers in New York yesterday. At the end of which, he broke into crappy Spanish. The police union has called for him to be barred from all police funerals for turning his back on the NYPD.

Turn about is fair play... the officers turned their backs on de Blasio at his press conference. When he showed up at the hospital where the two deceased cops were, with family, friends and comrades grieving, he tried to say he was one of them and was told by at least one officer he was not welcome or one of them and was told to leave. With all that blue blood on his hands, de Blasio should just resign and slink away. He's a cowardly weasel that has brought Marxism, violence and murder to New York.

In a speech offering his condolences to the families of the two murdered NYC police officers, Al Sharpton said not all police are bad. Here is the quote: The Garner family and I have always stressed that we do not believe that all police are bad, in fact we have stressed that most police are not bad.

How would he like it if whites kept saying, not all black people are bad.

This is a response to a tragedy he helped bring about? His vile rhetoric and lies bring out all the people on the edge like Brinsley.

He's a hopeless racial arsonist as he has been labeled in the past.

Ismaaiyl Brinsley, Murderer

The Glittering Eye :There is no doubt in my mind that the weasel of the week is Ismaaiyl Brinsley, the criminal who walked up to the squad car of two NYPD police officers and killed them. What qualifies him as a weasel is that he cited the deaths of Eric Garner and Michael Brown as the reasons for his actions. Why we allow violent, crazy career criminals to run loose on the streets is another question.

Yeccch! Can you smell the stench these weasel creatures emit or what? Check back Thursday to see which Weasel walks off with the statuette of shame!

Make sure to tune in every Monday for the Watcher’s Forum.

And remember, every Wednesday, the Council has its weekly contest with the members nominating two posts each, one written by themselves and one written by someone from outside the group for consideration by the whole Council. The votes are cast by the Council, and the results are posted on Friday morning.It’s a weekly magazine of some of the best stuff written in the blogosphere, and you won’t want to miss it...or any of the other fantabulous Watcher's Council content.

And don’t forget to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter..’cause we’re cool like that, y'know?